VI TRANSFER TO OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES VII General arrangements State and local recreational agencies State Highway Departments and County Boards of Commissioners Forest Service Procedures for leasing to Governmental agencies Summary of licenses and leases FEES AND USER CHARGES Fees or charges now collected by the Corps of Engineers Factors affecting possible fees or charges for use of Possible methods of collecting fees or user charges I PURPOSE This report is submitted in response to the request by the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives in Report No. 1634, 86th Congress, 2nd Session, for a complete report from both the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation before the hearings on the 1962 Appropriations Bill, setting out in some detail just what facilities it is contemplated that the Federal Government will supply, how the leasing of land and concessions will be handled, and specific guidelines for transferring the management of reservoir areas to States and other local interests. In discussing this matter in its report the Committee commented as follows: "The problem of recreational facilities at water resources projects is increasing in magnitude as additional millions of Americans take advantage of the recreational opportunities at Federal projects throughout the country. The general policy which has been followed with respect to such facilities is that the Federal Government will supply the minimum requirements for public health and safety. Generally speaking, this has meant sanitary facilities, approach roads to the water areas, parking areas, and facilities for launching boats. However, the Committee notes in the justifications a growing tendency on the part of both the Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation to expand the definition of minimum facilities to the extent of supplying camping areas, trailer park areas, family picnic areas, and even such things as ski ramps for water skiing. The problem of managing recreational facilities is becoming an increasing burden in terms of manpower and money." "There has been no general policy or uniform approach to the matter of concessions and land leasing in reservoir areas and the matter of parking fees, fees for the use of boat launching ramps and other facilities provided by the Federal Government seems not to have been carefully thought through by either the Corps or the Bureau of Reclamation. While efforts to turn the development and management of reservoir areas over to local political entities and states have met with some success, there is again no uniform policy concerning what the Federal Government will and will not do." II RECREATIONAL USE OF WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS Public recreational use of water resources projects planned and constructed by the Federal Government presents one of the most difficult problems confronting the Federal agencies with responsibilities in this field. At the same time proper management of the recreational resource created by new water areas affords an opportunity for cooperation between all levels of government and private initiative in providing a needed public service. Growth of the Problem. As the Committee has pointed out, the problem is "increasing in magnitude as additional millions of Americans take advantage of the recreational opportunities at Federal projects throughout the country." Chart 1, herewith (Appendix I), shows graphically the growth of public attendance at projects under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers, from about five million annually in 1946 to over 106 million in 1960. The magnitude of this public use and interest in itself would create a difficult administrative problem, but this has been aggravated by extremely rapid growth and by the fact that this was not, and probably could not have been, anticipated when the program was initiated in the early 1930's. This growth has been particularly rapid during the past decade. During that period the acreage of lands and waters at reservoir projects has doubled, but the number of visitors has increased more than six times. The total recreational use of Corps of Engineers reservoirs has expanded from approximately 16 million visitors at 50 major projects in 1950 to more than 106 million visitors at 250 reservoirs in 1960. This attendance has increased at the rate of 10 million visitors each year for the past 3 years and is expected to reach a total of at least 200 million visitors annually within the foreseeable future. The 250 reservoirs of the Corps of Engineers now in operation throughout the major river basins of the Nation provide approximately 3 million acres of water surface and 3 million acres of land along more than 21,000 miles of shorelines, mostly suitable for a wide range of outdoor, water-related recreational use, and made available to the public at over 4,000 improved access points. A summary of project data pertaining to recreational development and public use of Civil Works projects of the Corps of Engineers as of 1959 is included in Appendix I of this report. Types of Use. The development and management of these new water areas is also complicated by the variety in the types of public use for which a demand and need have developed. The Corps of Engineers has no detailed breakdown of the estimate of public use among the various types of recreation but on the basis of records at a number of projects it is estimated that the great majority of public use involves activities such as fishing, boating, swimming, Federal Government seems not to have been carefully thought II RECREATIONAL USE OF WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS Public recreational use of water resources projects planned and constructed by the Federal Government presents one of the most difficult problems confronting the Federal agencies with responsibilities in this field. At the same time proper management of the recreational resource created by new water areas affords an opportunity for cooperation between all levels of government and private initiative in providing a needed public service. Growth of the Problem. As the Committee has pointed out, the problem is "increasing in magnitude as additional millions of Americans take advantage of the recreational opportunities at Federal projects throughout the country." Chart 1, herewith (Appendix I), shows graphically the growth of public attendance at projects under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers, from about five million annually in 1946 to over 106 million in 1960. The magnitude of this public use and interest in itself would create a difficult administrative problem, but this has been aggravated by extremely rapid growth and by the fact that this was not, and probably could not have been, anticipated when the program was initiated in the early 1930's. This growth has been particularly rapid during the past decade. During that period the acreage of lands and waters at reservoir |